Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Plaintiff BAE is a defense contractor that previously contracted to upgrade South Korea's F-16 fighter jet fleet. The contract fell through, and the Korean government sued BAE in the Korean courts. BAE counter-sued in federal district court in Maryland to enjoin the Korean government's lawsuit in Korea.

The court issued an anti-suit injunction against Korea; the court limited the duration of the injunction in consideration of the fact that the court was not clear about whether it had jurisdiction over the Korean government.

Takeaway:

This is an incredible case. A ridiculous case, to be honest. Regardless of the fact that the court tried to be cautious and limited the date range of the injunction, the fact remains that a U.S. district court ordered a foreign sovereign to stop pursuing a lawsuit in a foreign forum regarding military equipment. One can hardly think of a greater insult to the sovereignty of one of the most valuable U.S. allies.